Steel and Chocolate
by The Manic Muse
Summary: When Chandra Baker became a weapons specialist with the US Navy Seals, working with a cannon loving giant alien robot wasn't in the job description.  IronhideXOC.
1. Chapter 1

Ok. I know, you want to shoot me for starting two other fic's without finishing Squeak. I will finish Squeak, I promise. However! I have a request! OMG! Yeah, isn't this cool? Ok, I'M FREAKING THE HELL OUT! Yeah. FIRE! HELP! FIRE EVERYWHERE! AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! The fires in LA haven't reached my house yet, but just to be safe my hubby and I are staying with my bestest friend Chandra in Riverside. Updates may be sporadic. I have my laptop and Chandra has WiFi, so I should be ok... So, my best friend Chandra wants a fan fic written about her. You asked for it Chandra :D You know how you keep saying you wish you could find yourself a man? Well. I found one for you...Honestly, I can't imagine any other autobot for you. Thanks for letting us have your basement babe, you rock. For all the victims of the horrible fire in Southern California, our thoughts and prayers are with you.

Ok, I know nothing about the military. Nadda. Most of this stuff is made up... Don't yell at me, please? I'm suffering from smoke inhalation.

Chapter One- First Impressions...

"Sergeant First Class Chandra Baker, Elite Weapons Specialist, US Navy Seals, reporting for duty sir!"

William Lennox smiled at the slender black woman saluting crisply in front of him and shot a look at the two way mirror across the room and winking, knowing the being watching from behind it was no doubt wanting to blow something up.

There had only been twelve out of the two hundred and twenty-six dossier's he had shown the old mech that hadn't been thrown into the air and blown into dust, one at a time. None of the four previous soldier's interviewed had made it past the second phase of testing before Ironhide had bluntly told them off. William was starting to get concerned.

He was being deployed in less then a month and he wanted to make sure everything was in place before he had to leave for a 14 month tour of duty in Iran. Since Sarah had died of breast cancer five years ago, it was just him, his truck and his now nine year old daughter.

A nine year old daughter that needed more then just Ironhide to watch over her while he was away. Having the secretary of defense owe you a favor for saving the world had its benefits. Having to run each candidate through a cranky old mech was a pain in the ass. Still, it would be Ironhide who had to deal with her and he wouldn't trust anyone else with his daughter. Sighing, he sat down

"At ease. I'm Commander William Lennox, US Intelligence. I've read your file. You graduated first in your class with honors from the Cambridge Military Academy in London, correct?"

"Yes sir."

He nodded, impressed. Cambridge was one of the best schools in the world. "You entered the Marine Corps at 19 and became a Navy Seal at 23, correct?"

"Yes sir."

He smiled. "How are you with kids?"

She blinked, a hint of surprise crossing her face. "I'm the oldest of six sir. I like kids."

"Follow me." He got up, leading her to the warehouse, where there was a table lined with 112 different guns, everything from a .22 pistol to a rocket launcher. This part of the test had been Ironhide's idea. Chandra stared. William was pleased to see that unlike all the others, instead of an expression of confusion, her face was a mask of barely hidden glee.

"Do you like guns?"

She nodded a little too eagerly and grinned "I'm a weapons specialist sir. Of course I like guns."

"Your going to hate them when this is over. This test is to see just how much you know about them. You will dismantle, clean, put back together and fire every gun on this table. You will be judged on accuracy, speed and above all, marksmanship."

Chandra's grin widened. "Yes sir!"

Four hours later, she fired off the rocket launcher, beaming with pride at the expression her commanding officer's face as it hit right on its mark. This was in the bag. She had known it the minute she saw the table.

William grinned. He wanted to see the expression on his friend's face. Chandra had not only broken every record there was, she had done it with the same gleeful grin that Ironhide got on his face whenever he got to show off his cannons.

"Well done! What do you know about the terrorist attack on Mission City eight years ago?"

Chandra's face fell. "Lost a brother to it sir. Airman 1st Class Dominick Baker. He was flying one of the Black Hawks called in for the retrieval of a civilian with precious cargo. He was shot down just before he was able to complete his mission. We were not briefed on the details of the attack."

William winced. He wondered if she knew that he had been the one who called in the retrieval order. Answering his question, she spoke, her voice brimming with pride. "You couldn't have called in a better pilot sir."

William nodded "Excuse me a moment." Walking briskly to the door on leading to the observation room where Ironhide waited he entered, closing the door behind him. Deep blue optics met his eyes. He leaned heavily against the door with a sigh, regaining his composure. Ironhide's voice broke him out of his thoughts.

"It wasn't your fault Will."

Will looked up at his friend and nodded. "I know."

"Bring her in."

William stiffened in surprise. She hadn't even finished phase one of the testing yet. "Are you sure?"

Ironhide grinned sheepishly. "She reminds me of Bumblebee."

William banged his head on the door. "Primus help us..."

Ironhide chuckled as Will left to give the femme outside what had been fondly dubbed "The Optimus Speech".

To her credit, Chandra didn't laugh at him.

Ironhide grinned at the expression on her face when William pulled open the cargo door and she saw him standing there, arms crossed over his chest. "Chandra, this is Ironhide. He's been overseeing the entire interview and decided he wanted to meet you."

To the surprise of both, Chandra took a moment to get over the complete shock of seeing a giant alien robot, then managed a crisp salute. "Sir... Assuming you are a sir."

Ironhide laughed. "Do I look female to you?"

She blushed "No sir."

William could tell this was going to be the start of a beautiful relationship.


	2. Chapter 2

Ok, chapter two. Yes, this is a romance. Yes Chandra is black. Why do you think this is called Steel and Chocolate? No, it's not a racist term. You kidding? Yes, California is on fire. Don't you watch the news? Hello. Yeah. The hamster in my brain died this morning. He's starting to smell. No, I didn't kill him. The smoke did. Aren't you paying attention? California is on fire. That means smoke. Lots of smoke. It's awful. I have to say one thing about fire though... Burning hills look really pretty when the sun goes down. The whole sky glows this strange reddish orange color. I don't feel much like rambling at the moment I'm afraid. Incoming story.

Chapter Two- Mr. Hide and the army brat

Chandra completed the live combat simulation course with flying colors. She had passed the written test with flying colors. Ironhide liked her. Will liked her. Now came the final and most difficult test of all.

Chandra looked up curiously as she noticed a little girl with long blonde hair, pulled back into pigtails, big green eyes and freckles wearing jeans and a pink camo T-shirt that said "Army Brat" across the front in glittery pink letters carrying a tray full of food across the mess hall, followed by a tall, absolutely ripped soldier with graying black hair, wearing green and brown fatigues. His ice blue eyes locked onto hers and he looked down at the little girl, pointing. She nodded eagerly and made her way to Chandra's table. Chandra smiled.

"Hi."

The little girl looked up at the man beside her questioningly. He smirked. "Whatcha lookin at me for Annie? Say hello."

Chandra instantly loved his voice. It was deep and gruff, but it held a hint of laughter that made her instantly like him. The little girl leaned back against his leg and smiled shyly.

"Hi..."

The man chuckled and held out his hand "I'm Lieutenant Hide, this is my niece, Annie. Mind if we sit?"

Chandra wondered why that name sounded so familiar. Shrugging it off she grinned, holding her hand out to Lieutenant Hide, who shook it. His grasp warm and surprisingly gentle considering how firm it was.

"Sure. I'm Sergeant First Class Chandra Baker"

The little girl slid on the bench next to Chandra, Hide took the seat across from her, smirking as Annie started struggling with her juice box. Finally frustrated, she held out the juice box and the straw, which Hide took, stuck the straw in and handed back. "So, Chandra, what do you do?"

Chandra grinned "I'm a weapons specialist. You?"

"Same."

"Do you like kitties?"

Chandra looked down at the little girl "Yes, I love kitties. Do you have a kitty?"

The little girl nodded. "His name is Tibs. He's really fat."

Lieutenant Hide chuckled, watching Annie stuff mac and cheese into her mouth. "He wouldn't be so fat if he wasn't so lazy. I swear, damned feline sleeps more then she does."

Chandra laughed. "Sound's like a happy cat. So, how old are you Annie?"

"Nine, how old are you?"

"Thirty Seven. Do you go to school?"

"Yep, I'm in 3rd grade."

Ironhide groaned inwardly as two familiar faces entered the mess hall. Thing's were about to get interesting. They weren't due back for another two days.

Chandra's gaze followed Annie as she looked up and squealed, leaving her tray and dashing across the mess hall, leaping into the arms of a slender blonde haired man with shocking azure eyes and a crooked grin, who was standing next to slightly older man with curly brown hair and big brown eyes. Both men seemed happy to see her.

"Friends?" She asked curiously. Lieutenant Hide grinned, there was a hint of pride in his voice. "More like little brothers. The blonde one is Special Ops Recon. We know him as Bee. The man beside him is Samuel Witwicky, his best friend. Also Special Ops Recon. They just got back from a mission somewhere in South America. I trained em both."

"I thought you said you were a weapons specialist."

He smirked. Smart kid. "I am. I'm also a drill sergeant and firearms instructor."

Chandra nodded, finishing her egg salad sandwich and got to her feet, holding out her hand. "Well, I have somewhere I need to be. It was nice meeting you, Lieutenant Hide."

He nodded, shaking her hand. He watched her leave, just as Bumblebee, Sam and Annie sat beside him. "You boys are back early, find anything interesting?"

Sam grinned. Sam had joined the military right out of high school and had become a damned good soldier. Bumblebee had joined at the same time, using his hologram to stay near Sam. Two years out of boot camp, Sam had taken a bullet to the chest and almost died. It was then Bumblebee realized he had feelings for the boy that went beyond friendship. As Bee sat by his side through recovery, Sam realized he felt the same. "Yep. A certain drug cartel, which ironically turned itself in soon after."

Bumblebee grinned cheekily "Yep. We rock. Check the rep yo, second to none! So, who was the femme?"

"Will has been deployed to Iran. We are looking for a suitable baby sitter for Annie. That is the latest of a group of qualified applicants. Her name is Chandra."

"I like her!I didn't like the others, they're all stuffy and dumb. She likes cats!" Annie said happily, playing with Bumblebee's dog tags.

Ironhide smiled at the little girl in Bee's lap. Chandra had passed phase two.


End file.
